Dramatic mobile phone footage from China has shown the moment a small tourist boat capsized after being swept up by a powerful waterspout.

The boat was among dozens on the lake surface as event goers observed the two-day Qingming Festival, which is also known as Tomb Sweeping Festival.

Video footage taken from a one of the small boats shows the surface of the lake at Beijing's Beihai Park filled with several of the four-seater vessels.

One person on a tourist boat was filming others passing on the lake at Beijing's Beihai Park

But suddenly a powerful waterspout led to one of the boats being blown ferociously and turned upside down

The woman filming the incident can be heard saying 'that's beautiful' as she captured a small weather phenomenon - which local reports suggested was a small waterspout - manifested itself in the form of miniature tornado-like winds on the lake's surface.